When it comes to maintaining spotless homes, professional housekeepers are unrivalled experts. Spending their days keeping properties spick and span, they naturally develop ingenious methods and shortcuts that the rest of us can use when cleaning our own homes.

A Reddit user shared seven valuable tips they'd gleaned from housekeepers over the years, which have made cleaning more efficient and their home considerably more inviting to them and visitors. "I've learned so many little tricks from housekeepers over the years," they wrote, "here are little tips I use to this day. An appreciation post for all the details cleaners put into their cleans!"

"I wrap my phone charger through my bed frame so it's always easy to grab," they said. "It used to just hang on the ground. It was life-changing when I first got into bed and saw my housekeeper did this for me."

The second was dubbed "the little toilet paper on the tap trick". "I knew of this but now I've adopted it whenever company comes over," they noted. "Guests are AMAZED."

Explaining the technique, they explained: "It's when you fold the last hanging piece of toilet paper into a triangle and then press it against the sink tap. The circle of the tap will act as a stamp that secures the triangle and makes it look fancy. It signals to guests that the bathroom has been freshly cleaned."

The third suggestion is straightforward and concerns pillow placement. The Reddit user explained: "Sometimes they (cleaners) make it so nice and I think 'why didn't I think of that?' I also had an amazing cleaner who would arrange my kids pillows/pjs/blankets into shapes and it was so thoughtful and cute."

For the fourth pointer, they noted: "I open ALL blinds and curtains. I used to clean but keep it pretty dim, but opening ALL blinds makes a huge difference! Feels so much cleaner immediately."

They described the fifth recommendation - buying a handheld vacuum cleaner - as "life-changing". "Taking out the vacuum was a pain, so I did it when crumbs would accumulate," they explained. "Having a small one in the kitchen drawer makes it so easy, so I don't mind quickly vacuuming crumbs and dirt whenever I see them."

For the sixth suggestion, they said: "I used to spray and wipe immediately. Now I spray my surfaces, clean something else, come back and scrub etc."

They characterised the final recommendation, which involves towel folding, as "a little thing that elevated the vibe". "I used to just fold in half and in half again," they said.

"Now I fold it the hot dog way, and then either roll or fold the ends into the middle (you can watch YouTube for different easy ways)."

Fellow users contributed their own methods, reports the Mirror. One commented: "Wipe down the bathroom surfaces with toilet paper before cleaning to get the dust up. Then clean. So much quicker."

Another shared their routine: "Not a house cleaner, but I clean off the counters/wipe them down, then sweep BEFORE doing the dishes. I always get water on the floor while doing dishes and then either mess up my broom/sweeping because it's wet or have to get on my hands and knees to clean up the water and waste paper towels or a dirty up a towel. So my order goes: counters, sweep, dishes, mop."

A third offered a tip of their own, saying: "Dusting and disinfecting the underside of the toilet. So between the seat and the floor. So many people miss this area and it's like night and day. Most don't notice dust there because you'd have to get up close to see it, or deliberately look at the underside of the toilet, but once it is dusted you can tell right away from a distance. The whole bathroom feels so clean."